In the Heat
by Agwen
Summary: The twins transcend borders to solve a case near an ice-cold lake. Things are getting... hot and steamy.


"What's wrong?"

The elderly man in front of him turned.

Eugene stood frozen by the entrance of the room. His gaze lowered and his eyes widened. He couldn't help but stare at the thing between the man's legs.

"Huh. So... this is your first time?"

The man moved his hips. The thing dangled, lifelessly and past its prime.

At that moment Eugene knew.

He was _scarred_ for life.

"...Yes," he said.

"I see," the man muttered. Then with a decisive voice he spoke: "Now take your towel off."

Taken aback, Eugene looked up at him.

"Pardon?"

"Take your towel off."

Eugene stared down at the towel around his own waist.

"But—"

He looked up again when no reply came.

The man's face was stern. Obviously, he wouldn't take a no for an answer.

Eugene let out a labored sigh and unwrapped the towel around his waist.

"Yes!" A slap on the knee resounded in the sauna. "That's the way we do things here in Finland!"

He nodded meekly.

The elderly Finn stepped a foot on the lowest wooden bench.

"Don't worry," the sauna veteran said, taking a seat on the upper bench. "I've seen men of all ages and sizes in the nude since the first time I entered a sauna. Nothing fazes me anymore. ...Now, come up!"

"Yes... Mr Järvinen."

Mr Järvinen stared at the entrance.

"Ah, Dr Davis!"

Eugene turned to see Oliver standing behind him with an impatient frown and a white towel on his arm.

The door closed.

Eugene's gaze moved down to the place of great importance.

"Well, _hello_ there. Dr Oliver Davis."

They still looked the same down there. Oliver hadn't outgrown him. Good, _very_ good.

Oliver almost hissed. "Move it, Gene."

Mr Järvinen agreed.

"Yes, come on! Put your towel on the upper bench and sit. Time's tickin', boys!"

Indeed, they could spend fifteen minutes at most per round in the sauna.

Eugene placed the white towel next to the cross-legged Mr Järvinen, and sat himself on it.

Come to think of it, it had been a while since he saw Oliver's —

Eugene shook his head.

 _No, now's not the time to get distracted._

He had a job to do!

* * *

Mr Järvinen was a man desperate enough to drag SPR's lauded Dr Oliver Davis and perfect medium Eugene Davis into a sauna. Like other fellow Finns, he was a man who could not live without a sauna, and like many of his ancestors, the man himself was born in sauna (at least, that's what he had claimed). So they had no reason to believe that Mr Järvinen would not spend his final moments in a sauna.

However, not until he solved this 'problem'.

Mr Järvinen's request arrived this autumn, after Oliver received a honorary doctorate for his thesis, and before they would have exams. For this reason Mr Järvinen had to wait on them until the winter holidays.

In December, Madoka, Lin and the twins traveled to Finland by plane. The sights they passed in the car were breathtaking. It was unlike anything they had seen. After a long journey, the group arrived at cottage by a lake. An ice cold lake in the middle of a Finnish winter.

As expected, the cottage was quaint and snug, but big enough to house four guests. Mr Järvinen welcomed them personally into the cottage, a personal retreat from the busy city life in Helsinki. He told them that the cottage and sauna were built in the 19th century by his deceased aunt's grandfather. After a period of abandonment, his aunt renovated the cottage and sauna into a pristine state for personal use. She never married or had children, so her belongings were passed onto the eldest son of her brother, her sole nephew: Eljas Järvinen.

Eljas and his wife used the sauna without any trouble for a year.

One day, Eljas invited his old friends and former colleagues to an anniversary party. Most of them consumed alcohol that night; beer flowed outside _and_ inside the sauna. The atmosphere was jovial. However, it turned bleak once the wooden benches creaked, the sauna itself rumbled, a strange voice spoke, and running steps were heard outside the sauna.

One of the occupants, a superstitious non-drinker, had stumbled out and exclaimed:

"It's the sauna elf! All of you angered the sauna elf!"

* * *

Strangely enough, the heat in the sauna was bearable. Eugene stared down at his arms. Small drops of sweat had formed on his arms. He reckoned that most of his sweat had evaporated after exposure to the hot and dry air.

However, one member of their party was still missing.

"Hey, where's Lin?" Eugene whispered to his brother.

"Outside," Oliver replied. "He's talking to Madoka."

"Oh."

Oliver gazed in his direction.

"What?"

Eugene started to speak through the hot line.

( _We will see Lin's... I mean, we'll see Lin naked._ )

The other inclined his head.

(. _..And?_ )

( _You're not curious?_ )

Oliver frowned.

( _Why would I be curious?_ )

( _About what he looks like..._ ) Eugene nudged his eyebrows upward. ( _...down under._ )

Oliver widened his eyes, looked away and huffed.

( _All men look the same down there._ )

Eugene folded his arms.

( _You don't know because you've only seen your own — I mean, ours._ )

( _What about Mr Järvinen?_ )

Eugene made a face. That horrifying sight entered his mind. ( _Forget I said anything._ )

Oliver shrugged.

( _In another sixty years we'll look like that too._ )

( _God no, I'd rather die_ —)

The door opened. Someone entered the sauna.

The brothers turned their heads and were faced with Lin's —

"Wooow."

Lin let out a strangled noise. He hastily moved the towel in front of his pelvic area.

Mr Jarvinen cleared his throat.

"Eyes up, boys. Staring too long or making a racket is impolite!"

Embarrassed, Eugene looked down at his hands. Oliver closed his eyes.

"Your first time in a sauna, Mr Lin?"

Lin put the towel on the upper bench opposite of them and sat on it.

"...I've been in a Turkish steambath before."

"Ah, so it's not your first time being nude in front of other people..."

"No, I wore a swimsuit back then, but I have been to a hot spring in Japan."

"Ah, a hot spring?"

Lin nodded.

"...It was part of the university's cultural exchange programme."

"I've been to the hot springs in Iceland, but I'm curious about Japan's..."

While Mr Järvinen and Lin talked about hot springs in Japan, Eugene took this moment to observe any oddities in the sauna as he was supposed to do.

Up until now he did not notice anything visible.

He gazed at the hot stones topping the stove in the middle of the room.

Hot.

Suddenly, Oliver rose from the bench and made his way downward with a towel in hand

"Hey, wait!"

Eugene followed Oliver out of the sauna.

It was freezing cold outside.

A familiar voice called from the direction of the cottage.

"Whaaat? Done already?"

Eugene panicked.

"No! Don't look, Madoka!"

Madoka whirled around in amusement.

"Don't worry. I won't look!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, then stared hard at his brother.

"Noll! Put that towel around your waist!"

Oliver casted the towel aside.

"I'm not going to take a dip in the lake with a towel."

Eugene groaned.

"I didn't mean it like that! If she sees you, she's seen mine!"

Behind them, Lin chuckled.

"Lin, stop laughing!"

Oliver plunged into the water. After some hesitation, Eugene followed him.

The water was ice and _ice_ cold.

* * *

Back in the cottage, Eugene and Oliver rested in the lounge. The bathrobes were big, though comfortable. Eugene could barely keep himself awake. Even Oliver seemed to have trouble listening to Madoka speaking with Mr Järvinen. Staying in the sauna, and taking a dip into the cold lake, had taken a toll on their bodies. Only Lin remained upright in his seat.

At one point, the adults nodded at each other in agreement.

It was time for round two.

* * *

Lin assured Mr Järvinen that he did not need a full crate of beer to get drunk.

Even so, the elderly man placed the crate in front of the sauna. He was surprisingly strong for his age. Mr Järvinen opened a bottle and handed it over to Lin, who took the bottle and entered the sauna. The twins followed, curious what it would do to him. After all, they had never seen the man drink alcoholic beverages.

They took their former seats in the sauna.

Lin sighed.

Eugene lifted an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Lin?"

"...I can't do this," he said. "Someone else needs to—"

"It can't be us," Oliver said.

He sighed again. "I know."

Lin put the bottle's opening against his lips and drank.

* * *

Minutes passed.

"...Your face is red, Lin."

"I know. You don't need to point it out."

"Does it mean you are drunk?"

"...No."

"Are you okay? Should we get out?"

"...I'm... fine," Lin said. "It's the alcohol flush reaction."

"Huh?"

"...It's common among Asians. Especially the Chinese and Japanese."

"Really?" Eugene looked worried. "Oh man, I hope I don't have it."

"Probably not," Oliver said. "Mother didn't have it."

"Oh yeah, she was super pale just like us, and not even a hint of red even though she drank all day!" Eugene blinked. "But what about dad? Did we ever see him drink—"

Suddenly, Lin rose from the bench.

"Lin?" Oliver said.

"I need to take a breath of fresh air," he said.

Oliver and Eugene exchanged glances.

"Here we go again."

* * *

A dive into the lake and a rest at the cottage later, the twins and Lin were back in the sauna.

Mr Järvinen threw water on the stones in the stove. It produced a great amount of steam, increasing the temperature to a near uncomfortable heat. After Mr Järvinen left, Lin gulped down the second bottle of beer, and let out a ragged breath.

"This is wrong," Lin muttered. "I'm supposed to protect you two from harm."

Oliver frowned.

"That's not your job right now."

"And why didn't we bring any equipment here?"

"...I highly doubt it would last in this heat. It's not worth the trouble."

"You don't understand." Lin made a fist. "I... I didn't come to Finland to get drunk!"

Frustration ran high on the bench opposite the twins.

However, no other alternative existed. As a non-psychic _and_ a woman, Madoka was out of the question. At the moment, she observed the situation outside along with Mr Järvinen in relative safety.

Despite his words, Lin downed the remainder of the bottle.

He breathed heavily.

"And what if my shiki go out of control!"

"...Oh shit," Eugene whispered. "He's totally a sad drunk."

Oliver ignored him and stared into Lin's eyes.

"Lin... The shiki won't get drunk. We'll be fine."

Eugene's jaw dropped.

( _I can't believe that sentence came out of your mouth_.)

Oliver put his hand against his forehead.

( _Lin's hopeless. Did his brains disappear?_ )

( _I know, I didn't think he would be such a lightweight!_ )

"But what if they do!"

"Calm down," Eugene said. "I can talk to them if you're out of commission."

Lin blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah, rea—"

The benches started to creak, as if the sauna shook due to an earthquake. The room dimmed and the sound of running footsteps surrounded them. A voice spoke unintelligible words.

Lin stood up in panic.

"Sit down, it's dangerous!" Oliver yelled.

Lin obeyed and sat back down. Oliver turned to face Eugene.

"You've got ten minutes to sort this out. I'll keep an eye on Lin."

Eugene nodded and closed his eyes.

 _"Come before us, sauna elf. I wish to speak to you."_

* * *

The 'sauna elf' was a young man named Onni. Onni seemed to be in his late teens. As per sauna tradition, he appeared in the nude before them. On the outset he seemed unwilling to talk with them. In particular, due to the drunk Lin. But after Eugene reassured that he and his brother did not plan on consuming alcohol, the spirit started to listen.

Apparently, Onni had died after consuming beer for the first time, and carried a heavy grudge against those who gave him alcohol. In the end, this grudge shifted to any others who drank alcohol in this sauna. Onni wished to free the sauna from such 'evil'.

Oliver surmised that the boy had suffered a severe allergic reaction to alcohol and had failed to recover.

In the end, Eugene convinced Onni that no one who visited this sauna, would suffer as terribly as he had done. After all, people could get tested for so-called 'allergies' nowadays.

Onni no longer needed to protect this sauna anymore.

 _"You did your job, but it's time to let go."_

* * *

After reassuring the sauna was safe, the twins and Lin spent the next day exhausted in the summer cottage. In the meanwhile, Madoka and Mr Järvinen visited the closest town. They discovered a passing mention of the boy in a genealogy book.

Onni Hannula was born in the early 19th century. He died at the age of fifteen.

* * *

 **Author's note**

For GhostHuntHQ's Davis Twins Birthday on September 19th, 2017. Prompt: Firsts.


End file.
